


The Do's and Don't's of Dating a Cat: A Guide

by unclassified_senpai



Series: We live in a strange and magical world, a little crazy yes, but still magical [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Domestic, EXO - Freeform, Established Relationship, Familiars, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Minor Kim Joonmyun | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Runes, Shapeshifting, Witches, because minseok as a cat is the best thing in the universe, dont fight me on this one, lots of magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-09 05:16:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12880941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unclassified_senpai/pseuds/unclassified_senpai
Summary: Kim Jongdae, genius Rune Scribe and unexpected Familiar, recounts the do's and don't's of dating a cat who happens to be a Witch, and'so why and how am I the Familiar? I'm so confused?'





	The Do's and Don't's of Dating a Cat: A Guide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acidulication](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acidulication/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Do not actually date a cat. That's bestiality and that's a big no.

 

 

 

 

Jongdae likes to believe that the Harry Potter books were written based off of his life.

Because 1: he only ever discovered his true abilities and gifts when he was 11 (on his birthday no less). And while a half-giant didn’t come breaking through the doors of a shack out in the middle of nowhere while he slept on the floor, cruelly punished by his relatives (Jongdae has very supportive mothers and 2 terrific (slightly terrifying) older sisters), telling him he was a wizard; 2: an honest to god _cat_ popped in into their house, telling him (and the entire family as they sat to eat breakfast) that Jongdae was his familiar.

Jongdae, as an 11 year old, had a lot of emotions and thoughts to process.

First of all, how was it possible that a _cat_ was speaking? Second of all, how was _he_ \- a completely normal non-magical human, a _Familiar_. Third, the cat stepped on his egg and that’s gross.

His mother fainted and his sisters screamed to high heavens while his other mother sighed as though she knew this was going to happen. They were probably the least magical family in the history of non-magical families. One of his mothers was a computer engineer, while his other mother was a dentist. His eldest sister, recently a freshman at university, was studying Communication Technology, and his other sister was in high school specializing in sports. Jongdae himself was interested in art. They were as non-magic as non-magic families got.

Not that they were against magic. Magic was a part of life and they all grew up with it. There were those who were inclined to magic, and some who weren’t. Jongdae and his family were not inclined towards magic- from both sides of the family tree. Or so Jongdae thought.

After that incident in the morning, his mothers sat them all down, with Minseok (as he introduced himself) on his lap, and told Jongdae that his “donor-dad” had been a warlock of sorts. So it sort of made sense. A little.

‘But how does it work?’ his mother asks Minseok. ‘None of us are Users. We uh- we thought that Familiars were-‘

‘I know,’ Minseok rolls his eyes, speaking, again, in cat form. It’s only just a little bizarre for a while before Jongdae is itching to play with his new companion, the strangeness of the entire situation entirely forgotten.

‘All I know is that Jongdae is my Familiar. Us Witches are granted and assigned by the Fates a Familiar- a life-long companion, who will help us develop our abilities and powers,’ he explains, sounding a little unsure. ‘But I don’t know how Jongdae is my Familiar. It’s odd to me too.’

After lots of research (his mothers were experts at research) and calling up Jongdae’s donor-dad (which was totally not awkward) they found out that Jongdae’s dad’s great-grandmother had been one of the most iconic and powerful Familiars of all time, aiding the Witches of her generation through a revolt that resulted in accepting Witches into the magical community. The magical community had been afraid of the Witches- they were powerful and used magic in ways that was darker and stronger than most of the Users like Druids, Warlocks, and Sorcerers. However the Fates, or the high-power entity of the magical community, did not shun the Witches as they normally did Users who exploited their abilities. Using this as the foundation of their argument as well as displaying a great strength in their powers for good by developing magic-based clean fuel (because even though this was centuries ago, the Witches were WokeTM  as hell) and making it free.

Guessing that there was nothing _wrong_ about all of this, and seeing as Jongdae took to Minseok like a duck did to water, his mothers were chill about it. And albeit the confusion and misinformation regarding what Familiars were, Jongdae too viewed the entire thing in a very chill way.

Familiars were, according to Minseok, like everyone knew, companions who aided their Witches with their abilities and skills. But it was far more than that. Familiars strengthened the good in Witches, transforming their abilities to one used for the good of the world. Magic, like all things found in the universe, had its pros and cons. Witches were much more susceptible to the misalignment of this because they weren’t genetically gifted with magic by the Fates. Those genetically gifted were Shifters, descendants of the Faes and other magical folk, Sorcerers, Druids, Mages, and Healers. Witches however, had what was called _manipulation_ over magic, and could use it despite not having the genetic inclination. This sometimes resulted in them transforming into necromancers. As a result, the Fates granted a gift; a gift for each Witch in the form of a companion- a Familiar, who would aid them with their usage of magic. While this wasn’t as common as it used to be, seeing as Witches no longer needed to be taught how to control their magic, the gift of Familiars were lessening in numbers.

‘So I’m going to help you become a good Witch?’ 11 year old Jongdae has asked, gently stroking Minseok’s sleek and black fur. He was an absolutely beautiful cat.

‘Yeap!’

‘That’s so cool!’ Jongdae beamed up at his parents and it was from that point they knew that their youngest son would be all right.

‘He won’t be…’ Minseok had tried to explain as best as his 14 year old self could at the time. ‘He won’t be “bound” to me. He can do whatever he wants- he doesn’t even have to go to a magic-based school or anything. I just wanted him to know.’

His mothers both looked down fondly at Minseok with understanding smiles.

‘Well, how about we all have a family dinner this weekend? We can all meet and come to understand each other better?’ his mother suggests.

Minseok gave them his parents numbers, mumbling as though embarrassed.

And then, just like that, Jongdae found himself thrust into the magical side of the world.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

**Things You Should Do: When sick or unwell, cuddle _but_ give them space.**

 

 

Jongdae actually didn’t get to see Minseok in his non-cat form for a while. He would later come to find out that Minseok was too embarrassed and a little too shy in his human form. It’s after nearly 5 months that Jongdae finally sees Minseok as a human boy. And it all happened very randomly and thoroughly unplanned.

Minseok was unwell. Jongdae had gone over to visit (complaining about his sister who ate his muffin he had been saving for Minseok) and instead of finding a black cat waiting for him by the porch, he found a black-haired, pale skinned, feverish young boy huddled in blankets sitting on a squishy couch.

‘I’m sorry I can’t play Dae,’ Minseok coughed.

Forgetting all thoughts about missing muffins and contagious germs, Jongdae cuddled up to his now human cat-Witch, speaking to him in quite soothing tones (or about as quiet and soothing as an 11 year old could) and told him, with great detail, about the owls they had seen during their trip to the local aviary.

Despite being 2 years older, Minseok was around the same size as Jongdae and snuggling was quite fun.

‘You’re not surprised,’ Minseok sniffed.

‘Surprised about what hyung?’

‘How I look,’ Minseok explains, voice thick.

‘I know you’re not a cat hyung,’ Jongdae laughs.

‘But it’s okay?’ Minseok’s nose is red and so are his cheeks. His ears pop out of nowhere- black and shiny peeking through his hair.

Jongdae reaches around to gently rub his ears like he did so often when Minseok was in his cat-form.

‘It’s totally okay.’

Minseok fidgets a little, shifting under the blankets. Jongdae thinks back to what his mothers told him, and what he’d seen in his family. His eldest sister was a needy-sick person, whereas his older sister was practically allergic to human-contact when unwell.

‘Do you need some space hyung? I can sit elsewhere?’ Jongdae offers.

‘Not too far,’ Minseok reaches out of his blanket cocoon and grabs at Jongdae’s sleeve. ‘Just over here.’

They end up sharing the same couch, their knees touching and hands held under Minseok’s blanket.

Jongdae does end up getting sick and Minseok in turn learns (with some amusement) that Jongdae is extra cuddly when unwell.

 

 

 

 

 **Things You Shouldn’t Do:** **Pull on their tails**

 

 

Just because Minseok shifted into a cat, didn’t mean he had cat behavior. He didn’t scratch things up, push stuff off of the table, or freak out over shiny red laser dots, or was averse to water. What he did was something most Shifters went through- Shifter-form to real-object coordination. Or lack of it.

Because Minseok’s cat form was so much smaller than his human-form, assimilating his surroundings to his cat/human form after shifting took some time. As a result, sometimes Minseok tripped over stairs, slipped on smooth floors, and miscalculated the weight of objects in his human-form. In his cat-form, Minseok often confused the proximity of items, the height of where he was standing, and the leaping distance between two objects.

They’re in Jongdae’s room where Minseok was helping Jongdae out with his homework.

‘I hate math so much,’ Jongdae sighs, crossing out another sum.

Minseok was very good at maths, something Jongdae found strange because Minseok was  a _Witch_ \- a _cat_ -Witch. So to say that he was a genius in maths was somehow ironic to Jongdae. Ironic, but not useless because he now finally understands geometry.

Minseok makes a sound of agreement. He was good at it, didn’t mean he _liked_ it. He gets up on all fours, stretching and yawning, prompting Jongdae to do the same. Minseok had a funny habit of walking around in circles (as both human and cat) after stretching, before settling down again. He takes the short walk around Jongdae’s desk, avoiding the eraser dust gingerly because Minseok was freakishly clean and often made Jongdae clean his room out on a weekly basis despite admitting he had a pretty clean room for a 13 year old.

Jongdae’s desk was a nice wide table that was pushed up against a large open window. And honestly, Jongdae should have seen this coming _ages_ ago. Minseok miscalculates his steps, being a bit dizzy from stretching and walking around after inactivity, he tilts and promptly falls off of the desk, out of the window.

Jongdae has never, in his 13 years of being alive, screamed that loud or moved that fast.

He’s grabbed Minseok by just a few inches of his tail, his stationary stabbing him painfully on the abdomen, and his muscles screaming in protest to the sudden burst of action.

Minseok is flailing- half meowing and half screaming.

His sister, who was walking past to go downstairs, comes bursting in and saves both of them. She firmly but gently chastises both of them to be more careful and then offers them both comforting hugs. She checks on them to make sure none of them were injured before leaving.

Minseok, shaken, is huddled in Jongdae’s arm, never minding the fact that his breathing is restricted with how tightly Jongdae was holding him. Jongdae’s heart is hammering inside his chest.

‘Hyung- are you okay?’ he asks after a while.

Jongdae’s sister returns with cups of milk and some cookies for them before leaving them alone. 

‘Uh huh,’ Minseok replies in a small voice.

Jongdae collapses on the ground, still holding Minseok tight. For someone who didn’t nearly off of a window, Jongdae was more effected than Minseok.

‘Don’t grab my tail again though.’ Minseok says, trying to lighten the situation. ‘Hurts a lot.’

Jongdae looks down, eyes filled with unshed tears. He sniffs thickly, clearing his throat, and nods.

‘Hey, Dae, it’s okay,’ Minseok says, nudging the underside of his jaw with his wet and cold nose. ‘I’m okay.’

Jongdae just nods, taking deep breaths.

‘I won’t grab your tail unless it’s emergencies,’ he says in a wobbly voice.

Minseok shifts in the tight hold a bit, turning over as though to hug the boy. Jongdae hugs him back, kissing the top of his head, making Minseok flatten his ears.

‘All good in here boys?’ his sister asks, poking her head in.

‘We’re good,’ Minseok replies.

She smiles at them fondly before disappearing again.

‘Come on Dae,’ Minseok pokes Jongdae with his nose until the latter smiles. ‘You have to break my cookies for me- I don’t have opposable thumbs like this.’

 

 

 

 

 **Things You Should Do:** **Stroke their heads**

 

 

 

Minseok has a raging headache.

 _Puberty_ , his own brain supplied him. Minseok rolls his eyes. Hormones were dumb and caused nothing but trouble. And they didn’t work how they were supposed to. He didn’t grow as tall as he had hoped. He wanted to be taller than Jongdae but he was _stuck_. In fact, they both were stuck, growing together, but at the same pace. Hormones were also annoying because Minseok hates how his chest flutters whenever Jongdae laughed or hugged him.

Minseok grimaces, for the nth time, glaring at his cup of tea that Jongdae said would help with his headache.

‘Does it really hurt that bad?’ Jongdae asks quietly, knowing that he should keep his distance when Minseok was unwell.

It really did hurt a lot- no magical remedy or potion was helping him out.

Jongdae carefully reaches over and gently feels at his forehead. Minseok knows he doesn’t have a fever but his _brain_ felt feverish.

‘Maybe sleep hyung?’ Jongdae offers, nodding back at his bed. ‘I’ll close the curtains.’

Jongdae hadn’t asked why Minseok had come to his place despite having a headache that rendered him useless. He just took him up and made him sit down and brought him tea.

Minseok only groans and slumps sideways onto the wall behind the bed.

The cool fabric of Jongdae’s blanket cover is soothing on his throbbing temples. There’s some movement and the bed dips under Jongdae’s added weight. Minseok feels an arm wind around his shoulder and push him down.

He’s a bit nauseous from the sudden movement but that stops when he feels his head being cradled by a pair of arms. Opening his eyes he looks up to find Jongdae looking down at him worriedly.

‘Just sleep hyung- when my mum gets a headache, she says a good nap always helps her. So take a nap.’ Jongdae says firmly. Jongdae was also going through puberty- though it’s not as bad, Minseok thinks. He has some random pimple outbreak and his voice cracked all over the place- but nothing worse than that.

Minseok had to deal with headaches, height complexities, weight fluctuation, emotional roller coasters _and Jongdae has to not lean over him like this._

Jongdae moves up a little and starts to gently brush through his hair and _damn- okay my ears popped out._

‘Just relax hyung- just sleep.’

Minseok closes his eyes, not because he wants to sleep. But because he can’t deal.

It actually helps- to Minseok’s intense bemusement. Jongdae continues to pet his head, rubbing his ears like he would in his cat form.

When Minseok later wakes up to a cool and dim room alone, he finds that his headache is entirely gone.

It becomes an unspoken arrangement that Jongdae gently strokes his hair, fingers lightly scratching on his scalp, and hums quietly every time Minseok says “headache”. It sort of kills Minseok in the inside every time, but at the same time relieves his headaches instantaneously.

 

 

 

**Things You Shouldn’t Do: Keep secrets and hide things**

 

 

Jongdae is used to the crude and back-handed comments he receives from the other kids at school about his relationship with Minseok. He’s sure Minseok gets them too. Not that he’s ever mentioned it. Jongdae has been asked this for over a year now. He’s also used to the idea of people thinking that they were dating. Which wasn’t true. Or at least, he thinks it isn’t. Because according to Chanyeol, his classmate and closest friend after Minseok, they did things and behaved in a manner that was similar to two people dating. _Married_ even. Chanyeol cites his older sister as an example, while pretending to gag (accidently sprouting out fire seeing as he was blessed with the Spirit of Fire) as he recounts his sister and her boyfriend and their dates.

But Jongdae never saw it as such- they were always like that. Whatever _that_ meant.

It wasn’t as though they held hands and kissed and acted all lovey-dovey as he’s seen so many couples around him do so. So maybe they did hold hands- but that was when Minseok was channeling his magic, concentrating on basic spells and summons. And Minseok has kissed his forehead a few times before and Jongdae has kissed all of Minseok’s face in cat-form before. And so maybe they did cuddle closer than strictly platonic but they were _close_. He was Minseok’s _Familiar_ for goodness sake.

So yeah. They were close, yes, but not like that.

But Jongdae also knows he wouldn’t be opposed to it. To all of _that._  

Because one clear night, when Minseok took him out to his backyard where his mother’s herb garden grew to bless some water under the first full moon after the summer solstice, he realized with startling reality, that he _really really really_ liked Minseok. In more than a friend way and he freaked out.

‘Gonna go on a witching date Kim?’ someone yells at him as he leaves his classroom. He wants to hiss back something at the idiot, but stops himself. Because he was, in fact, going to go meet Minseok. Minseok wanted to carry out one of the more complicated spells he’d been experimenting with- something about some new plants he learnt about. Minseok wanted to be a “Green-Witch” and Jongdae was all for it. It might be because Minseok looks great surrounded with flowers and plants under the sunlight but Jongdae ignores that thought. Instead he preferred to take up his drawing pad and draw his hyung with soft pencil strokes over countless pages. This was kept a secret though- instead Jongdae used his illustrative abilities to help Minseok out by creating a sort of grimoire for the elder of all the plants Minseok has shown him.

Ignoring his idiot classmate, Jongdae runs off to catch the bus back home. Minseok’s schedule was different from his, so despite going to the same school, they rarely left school at the same time. Though they did make it a point to get to school at the same time.

Jongdae doesn’t enter Minseok’s house through the front door, but rather takes the small path to the side that opened to the backyard.

Minseok isn’t alone. He’s chatting with his neighbour, Kyungsoo, if Jongdae isn’t mistaken. He was one of the magical folk, but he mostly kept to himself. He was nice and polite, and the total of 4 times Jongdae has spoken to him, Kyungsoo has always been incredibly nice and polite despite the fact that he looked gloomy and serious the entire time. He was a little younger than Jongdae, and much _smaller_ as well. So Jongdae somehow felt protective over him.

‘Kyungsoo! Hi!’ Jongdae greets him brightly.

‘Jongdae! Hi,’ Kyungsoo smiles.

They chat a while, the three of them, before Kyungsoo says he has to go.

‘I’m happy you’re together now,’ Kyungsoo says before he steps away from the fence. ‘You look really happy hyung.’

It takes Jongdae about 10 seconds whereas Minseok takes an entire minute to figure it out.

Minseok is spluttering apologies for the misinterpretation before rambling on about the plants and spells and how the planets were correctly aligned.

But now Jongdae can’t get over it.

Minseok picks up on his distraction and looks over him worriedly.

‘Is the magic frequency too much? But the full moon isn’t out?’ Minseok mumbles with worry.

They figured out, that the same way Shifters somehow were strongly attuned to the moon and her stages, Familiars were effected as well, being more susceptible to the flow of magic.

‘It’s just…uh,’ Jongdae stammers. Of course he liked Minseok. Everything about his cat-Witch was perfect.

This went beyond hormones.

‘Dae?’ Minseok looks over at him carefully, head tilted the same way it did whenever he was a cat.

‘Well um-‘

 _Honesty is key_ , his mother always told him.

‘Well you see uh-‘ Jongdae tries really hard. But come on, he’s barely past 16 and nervous as fuck and he wants to maybe die right about now.

‘-that thing that just happened.’

Minseok looks like he wants to understand better but he was clearly lost.

‘With um, Kyungsoo, talking,- about us.’ Jongdae says haltingly.

‘Ah-‘ Minseok looks uncomfortable and hesitant, eyes shifting elsewhere. His ears pop out. _Nervous_.

But Jongdae trudges on. Defeat and backing out were words that were not in his dictionary.

‘Are we?’ Jongdae asks Minseok before adding for clarification as though it was needed. ‘Dating? Together?’

Minseok thinks a while, looking away. He was fidgeting a lot. But not as much as Jongdae who thinks he’ll need to replace his sweater at this rate.

‘I mean-…it’s not unheard of?’ Minseok scratches at the back on his neck, even his whiskers were starting to show now.

‘Should we?’ Jongdae presses. ‘I mean, I don’t know about you, but I know I really do like you. Like, you’re the best part of my day? I know you say that as your Familiar I make you better- that I help channel your magic for good. But, you do the same for me- hyung it’s like you make me better? I want to be good, I want to be better? And being here with you, with magic around me- it’s not just this magic here right now- but it’s like _you’re_ magic?’

Jongdae doesn’t know why everything he’s saying sounds like a question. He’s starting to sweat bullets now.

‘And you’re always so nice- so uh-..oh god.’ Jongdae stops abruptly because Minseok’s eyes are wide and almost teary.

‘What? What’s wrong oh god did I say something wrong-‘ Jongdae is babbling, wondering what to do and he could really use that sudden death-trope from tragedies and dramatic novels right about now.

Minseok rolls his eyes, tears actually spilling, before launching himself at Jongdae, pressing kisses upon kisses all over his face. A few herbs were being crushed but Jongdae can’t seem to care- especially with the way Minseok didn’t care at all.

‘Um-‘ Jongdae manages.

They don’t speak, only clinging hard.

‘I’m older than you- why were you the one to bring this up?’ Minseok mumbles against his shoulder.

Jongdae feels like he’s about to sprout wings and fly away.

‘So I make you better?’ Minseok asks, voice wobbly.

‘I feel like I can do anything when you’re with me hyung,’ Jongdae replies truthfully.

Minseok leans back a little, a wide and blissful smile on his face.

‘Yeah? Me too.’

 

 

**Things You Should Do: Be Honest**

 

 

Minseok is curled up on the recliner, much like how he would in his cat form. His nose is buried in a massive biology text book because his parents wanted him to study in a co-magic school so that he was properly exposed to both spectrums of available education. While Jongdae was also in the same school, he didn’t have to take up any GMC (General Magic Course) classes until the next semester. Jongdae has to stop himself from cooing. Instead he leans down and kisses his cat-Witch on the nose, making Minseok wrinkle his nose though he’s smiling.

‘Uh thank you?’ Minseok laughs as he puts down the biology book. He had a test on Monday and though his grades were impeccable and the elder was undoubtedly incredibly intelligent, he still studied diligently.

‘You’re cute like this hyung,’ Jongdae grins, putting away the herbs he had gone to pick up. He liked how the sap stained his skin, the faint fragrance of fresh green things reminding him of Minseok.

Minseok rolls his eyes, ‘Yeah- sure.’

‘I’m not lying?’ Jongdae counters, setting the herbs down on the table for Minseok to inspect. Minseok was training Jongdae on how to identify and categorize the different qualities of herbs at different stages of maturity. Jongdae knew for a fact that he was going to enter every GMC class knowing more than other non-magic humans in the entirety of his year.

Minseok’s cheek colour for a moment before he’s going back to his book and says, ‘Yes well- you don’t have to _always_ say it.’

‘But I like to,’ Jongdae teases, edging closer to where Minseok relaxed. Jongdae scoots up on the smooth wooden floors slowly.

‘You’re really pretty hyung-‘

‘- _fuck-_ ‘ Minseok starts, not expecting Jongdae’s voice to come in that close. ‘Uh okay that’s not-‘

‘And like, your hair is so pretty and smooth and oh god-‘ Jongdae reaches up to brush through aforementioned shampoo ad worthy hair with his fingers.

‘Jongdae there’s no need-‘

‘My hyung is so pretty and so handsome and so cute like wow, how is he my boyfriend-‘

‘OKAY I GET IT PLEASE STOP!’ Minseok shrieks, hiding his face.

Jongdae kneels in front of the couch, resting his head on the couch over his crossed arms and presses his face against Minseok’s hands.

‘It’s true!’ he sing-songs.

Minseok garbles out a shriek and grabs Jongdae by the sides of his face and kisses him to shut him up.

It works.

 

 

 

**Things You Shouldn’t Do: Don’t try and change them**

 

 

It is of course, inevitable, that Minseok graduates high school before Jongdae does. It’s also inevitable that Minseok goes to university before Jongdae does. And somehow, Minseok had been suspecting that his Familiar, his best friend, his boyfriend, ~~his _soulmate_~~ would come to choose a purely magic-based higher education.

‘Jongdae are you sure,’ Minseok presses. ‘Just because you’re my Familiar doesn’t mean you have to choose a magical-education. Just _you_ being you, is all I need.’

Puberty was kind to Jongdae, because Minseok didn’t look this good when he was 17. Or he could be biased about the whole situation.

‘I am sure hyung,’ Jongdae replies earnestly. ‘I always knew that I would choose this. and I swear it’s not because of you- or because I’m your Familiar. I want to do this because I know I can do good with this. I know I can be _better_ \- that I can be the best version of myself.’

Minseok could weep. What were the Fates thinking when they assigned Jongdae as his Familiar. Did they even _think_? Did spiritual cosmic entities whose existence was simply a belief really have anything to do with this? Minseok pulls himself out of the existential crisis and saves it for later.

‘It’s also…it’s also not just that,’ Minseok begins carefully.

Jongdae is properly confused and rightly so.

‘Is that what…I’m probably not what you want in a relationship,’ Minseok looks down but continues on regardless. ‘I came into your life, completely messing up everything. I’m not even one of the magic-folk, I’m a _Witch_ and a _Shifter_. Don’t think I don’t know what people say to you. Because I know, and I’m sorry for what you have to hear because of me-‘

‘Hyung. Stop.’

Jongdae wasn’t one to be serious. Not that he was incapable of it. He had a genial outlook to life- something that balanced Minseok’s slightly suspicious one. Jongdae was such a stable, warm, blissful, yet grounded presence in Minseok’s; maybe _this_ was why the Fates (if they existed) had granted him this gift. But that was where Minseok felt strangely guilty. This was to benefit Minseok- to _aid_ him. Jongdae got nothing out of this.

They had been sitting on Jongdae’s bed, where that latter had been reading through different curriculums available in the school. Jongdae suddenly lurches forward and pushes them both down onto the bed.

‘Um-?’

Jongdae snuggles into his side, face pressing to the side of his neck where he drops a soft kiss. Minseok turns a little to face Jongdae. This was their normal position while snuggling in bed- even before they became boyfriends. Even before they realized how much they meant to each other.

‘You’re _my_ Witch hyung- mine,’ Jongdae says against his temple. ‘And I’m _your_ Familiar. But it’s more than that- you are _you_ and I am _me_ \- no matter what, I am yours, and you are mine. Isn’t that right?’

Minseok nods, wondering how he ended up being the older person in this relationship.

‘You like me for who I am right? Slightly too loud, maybe a bit too whiny, drops pencils and bits of paper everywhere, never eats broccoli, judgmental taste in music with a severe hipster inclination. You still like me right?’

‘Of course I do,’ Minseok replies.

‘That’s the same way I like you too hyung- OCD, cat ears, whiskers, all of that- I like all of you hyung.’ Jongdae says quietly. ‘So don’t say shit like that about not wanting all of you in a relationship. It makes me look bad.’

Minseok lets out a short ‘ha!’ laugh while Jongdae grins against his forehead.

Minseok shifts up a bit, studying his Familiar’s face clearly.

‘I just want you to know- that if you change your mind- or if you don’t want to go in this direction- let me finish Dae,’ Minseok adds because Jongdae looks like he’s about to go on an hour-long tirade. ‘-If you change your mind. Then you shouldn’t feel guilty, or feel like you owe me anything.’

Jongdae doesn’t say anything for a moment before he says, ‘Then you shouldn’t feel guilty, or feel like I’m doing this out of obligation either.’

It’s Minseok’s turn to be quiet before he says, ‘The Fates are really _really_ good at this.’

Jongdae just grins in reply before leaning in to kiss him.

‘What are you interested in?’ Minseok asks a little later, brushing through Jongdae’s hair.

‘Runes, I think,’ Jongdae reaches behind him for a moment before he picks up a pamphlet. ‘I think this might be my strong point.’

‘Yeah?’ Minseok smiles. ‘A Scribe?’

Jongdae reaches up to rub at his cheek- his whiskers might have popped out.

‘Yeah,’ Jongdae grins back, leaning up to kiss him lightly before saying, ‘The first Rune I’m going to practice is the Rune of Concealment.’

‘What? Why?’ Minseok is confused. Out of all the runes to choose from- Concealment was not exactly one he thought was particularly important or “cool”.

‘So that I can cast it anytime I want to kiss you when we’re in public,’ Jongdae says against his lips, wicked twinkle in his eye.

‘Why are you like this.’

 

 

 

**Things You Should Do: Help Them Feel Secure**

 

 

 

Jongdae watches as Minseok paces in his room, grimoire in hand, cursing under his breath, while counting his sock collection for the third time.

‘Hyung I don’t think the amount of socks you have should, you know, really affect your dorm room?’ Jongdae offers.

Minseok stops only long enough to give Jongdae a look of incredulity.

Sighing, Jongdae goes back to his task of packing up Minseok’s collection of seeds, roots, and bulbs, so that he could plant those after settling into his dorm room.

‘I’m-‘ Minseok begins but then stops. Suddenly, the grimoire falls out of his hands and he transforms into a cat. A part of Shifter’s magic incorporated their clothing, allowing them to not always be buck-naked when they shifted. Convenient, Minseok had said.

Minseok leaps up to the bed and Jongdae is already holding his arms out. He falls back, allowing Minseok to rest on his chest, his ears tickling the underside of his jaw. Jongdae holds him close, rubbing between his ears in a soothing manner.  

‘Stupid socks.’ Minseok mumbles.

Jongdae laughs, rubbing up and down Minseok’s silky smooth back. It suddenly hits him that this week would be the last time in a while that he would be able to do this. To sleep on top of Minseok’s bed, stroke his sleek fur, and talk about nothing and everything.

‘I’m going to miss my room,’ Minseok sighs. ‘Gonna miss my garden, gonna miss Mrs. Choi’s annoying backing sound every morning at 6. Gonna miss coming home to my house. Gonna miss you.’

Jongdae doesn’t say anything, the lump in his throat threatening to come up higher. He swallows thickly.

‘I’m gonna miss all of this- but I’m also excited.’ Minseok continues to rumble. ‘I’m excited that I’ll get into university- to study and complain about how useless some courses are. To complain about the professors- to have asshole classmates- I’m excited to have to figure out the new shower in the dorm rooms. Excited to explore.’

Minseok stretches a little, back arching before standing over Jongdae’s chest, poking his nose with his own soft, slightly wet one.

‘I can’t wait to go, figure out everything, so that when you come, I’ll have everything set out for you.’

So of course Minseok had figured it out. Of course he did.

He understood, that Jongdae was nervous. There was no denying that he wanted this- to be part of this universe. But he was undoubtedly nervous and afraid. His only connection to any of this was through Minseok- and having him leave for a good 20 months where they would move in motion in separate panes of life made Jongdae feel as though he would be too late to catch up. Too late to relate and help Minseok. It wasn’t as though there was a huge age-gap between the two. It was only 2 years but in moments like these, Jongdae couldn’t help but feel as though he was too far away in more than just age.

‘Things will change,’ Minseok says quietly. ‘Life is all about change,- I will learn new things, see new things, feel new things. I will change. And so will you. _We_ will change.’

Jongdae swallows again, nodding in agreement.

‘But that doesn’t mean _this_ will change.’ Minseok rubs his face against the side of his cheeks. ‘Who you are to me won’t change. Who I am to you won’t change. What are the principle properties of lavender?’

Surprised, Jongdae takes a moment to reply: ‘Dreamless sleep, mild pain reliever, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory.’

‘Correct. What about lavender oil?’

‘Dreamless sleep, mild pain reliever, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal?’ Jongdae replies, still a bit confused.

‘Lavender powder?’

‘Dreamless sleep, mild pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and…oily skin?’

‘No matter what state lavender is in, it will always carry its base principles, right?’ Minseok asks, kneading his cheeks with his paws.

‘Yeah?’

‘Just like that, even if I’m in university, and you’re here- or even if we’re together here, or somewhere else- our base principles will never change. Right?’

‘Only you could use a herb analogy like that,’ Jongdae grins.

‘Damn right. Only me.’ Minseok pushes away a little before shifting back, the sudden change in weight nearly making Jongdae choke.

‘Rude,’ Minseok glares without any venom as Jongdae pretends to groan.

Jongdae gives him his characteristic grin, one that always makes Minseok want to trace the smile lines across his face. Instead he cradles Jongdae’s head in his arms, shifting a little higher up.

‘I’ll miss you,’ Minseok says seriously.

Jongdae sobers up, wrapping his arms around Minseok’s torso.

‘Would you like some St John’s Wort for that?’

‘I sometimes regret teaching you stuff.’

 

 

_~~(St John’s Wort is used to treat anxiety, depression, and loneliness)~~ _

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Things You Shouldn’t Do: Don’t let your jealousy or insecurity overcome you**

 

 

When Minseok goes off to university, Jongdae suffers from severe withdrawal much to the amusement of his sisters and mothers. They messaged and called frequently but Jongdae missed having Minseok by his side- or knowing he was just 10 minutes away. He missed having Minseok’s weight on his back in his cat form while he did homework. He missed kissing Minseok just because he could. He missed the way Minseok’s eyes would sparkle every time Jongdae managed a bit of magic from his carefully constructed and illustrated Runes.

So of course he’s beside himself when Minseok comes back for a long weekend. Jongdae practically _lives_ for these weekends. Except this time, he’s not alone.

Yixing is a year older than him, whereas Baekhyun is his age. They hit it off extremely well.

And Jongdae doesn’t even need Minseok’s subtle eyebrow wiggle and amused smirk in the direction of the two to know that Baekhyun was probably a little more than head over heels for the Chinese student. It’s only a little embarrassing to see Baekhyun trying so hard when Yixing only has eyes on the small _thing?? Creature?? Stuff??_ He had brought with him.

‘He’s a magizoologist,’ Minseok explains before adding: ‘-in training.’

Yixing beams at him, dimples deeper than the ocean on display.

And Jongdae likes the two of them a lot. Who he doesn’t like is the _other_ Chinese student.

‘This is Lu Han.’ Minseok introduces them with a bright smile.

Lu Han.

Lu Han was a direct descendent from the practically royal Forest Spirits who existed before civilization was even a thing. They were as close as possible to living deities (they were once worshipped and were given tributes) as possible and by Fates did he look it.

His hair is crisp gold, his skin flawless and smooth, as pale as alabaster. His eyes were a golden hazel, with soft green lights that reminds Jongdae of sunlight filtering through a canopy of fresh young leaves. And it wasn’t just that- Lu Han was a _Shifter_ as well, training to be Mage. And he was exceptionally skilled- was it his ancient magical heritage or personal skill and talent, Jongdae isn’t sure, but Lu Han was on a whole different level.

Minseok was older, and now part of _university_ , where there were other people, Users and magical folk, people he would feel more related to. And now meeting with other Shifters. Jongdae never doubted their relationship, but sometimes he felt lacking, like he could never really be part of Minseok’s world. And he knows that their relationship would never break off- he had faith in Minseok, and Minseok had faith in him. There was no denying their connection.

But sometimes Jongdae did tend to feel… _jealous_.

Especially with the way Lu Han liked to hug Minseok at every opportunity, smiling his ridiculously beautiful smile, and his eyes sparkling like he had literal stars in his eyes, or the way his voice seemed so melodic- his accent only making his speech more beautiful.

But the issue (Jongdae doesn’t know why it’s an issue) was that Lu Han was a genuinely nice person and not at all arrogant or “douche-bag” like as Jongdae has seen in so many good looking people. Lu Han didn’t even seem to regard his own beauty, easily making himself the topic of jokes.

In the end, Jongdae comes to conclude that he’s happy that Minseok found another Shifter with whom he could discuss Shifter issues with, someone he could relate to. He was still going to be jealous about it though.

‘What is it?’ Jongdae asks Yixing, nodding at the creature in his arms.

Yixing looks happier than anyone should when referring to whatever matted creature he was holding in his arms should ever have the right to do so. But the pure joy and eagerness in his eyes is a little hard to ignore and honestly made you want to indulge him.

‘His name is Miso!’ Yixing tells him excitedly. ‘He’s a freshly hatched Shangyang.’

He says this like Jongdae should know what he means.

‘Shangyang is a very rare and special bird- they can predict the rain!’ Baekhyun supplies, sounding like he had just swallowed a textbook on special creatures.

‘Thank you Baekhyun,’ Yixing smiles.

It’s _very_ embarrassing to see Baekhyun splutter out a response in about 4 different languages, glittery dust rolling off of him in waves. Baekhyun was born from a long line of lesser nature spirits leaning more towards pixies from his father’s side. Hence the glitter. Yixing just smiles, dusting off the glitter that shimmers pink under his touch.

Jongdae cringes internally at how blatant Baekhyun is and how oblivious Yixing is.

‘Miso is more than that though,’ Yixing explains as he strokes the mottled feathers on the rather ugly and lumpy bird. Jongdae firmly believes it would grow to be some magnificent creature but at this moment he can’t imagine it.

‘He came to me as an egg 6 years ago- that’s how I came to know about all of this.’

‘All of this?’ Jongdae repeats.

‘I’m non-magic,’ Yixing explains. ‘But Baekhyun believes I might have had a Druid in the family a long time ago, because creatures like him love me.’

‘They flock towards him,’ Baekhyun explains with pride, glitter spreading around in lilac hues. ‘He has a gift.’

‘I wouldn’t call it that,’ Yixing says shyly. ‘I’m just lucky. Blessed.’

‘I know how you feel,’ Jongdae nods with a grin. ‘This is the first magical creature I’ve seen. Can you tell me more?’

Yixing is all too eager and Baekhyun is all too happy to sit and listen to Yixing ramble. Jongdae is so immersed in Yixing’s rambles about dragons and phoenixes that he’s startled when a small furry warmth crawls into his lap.

Minseok nudges at him with his nose and Jongdae holds him to his chest, pressing a kiss on his head before listening to Yixing again. He does, however, find it funny that Lu Han (who remained in his human form instead of the magnificent deer he shifted into) comes to sit next to them, an amused grin on his face as he regards Minseok.

‘What’s up?’ Jongdae asks.

‘Nothing,’ Lu Han grins. ‘You guys are cute.’

‘Duh? I mean, look at hyung?’ Jongdae holds up Minseok as though for evidence only to receive an embarrassed sigh from the latter. Lu Han cackles, throwing his head back in an unflattering angle and manner. Somehow makes Jongdae feel better.

‘So cute.’

 

 

 

**Things You Should Do: Offer comfort**

 

 

 

‘FINALS ARE DONE!’

‘ME TOO!’

Jongdae and Minseok run into each other, arms spread out wide, ignoring the amused looks and giggles of the people around them.

Another weight hits them and Jongdae groans, ‘Chanyeol no- go away, no hugs; not after you grew 3 feet.’

‘I didn’t grow 3 feet- you just shrunk.’ Chanyeol pulls away from them, his long arms almost encircling them both. ‘Hi hyung! Nice to meet you again after so long!’

‘Nice to meet you too Chanyeol,’ Minseok grins, allowing Jongdae to hold him tight as he continues speaking to the Fire Spirit. ‘How does it feel?’

‘Like this couldn’t have happened sooner, oh Fates, hyung- I can’t wait to complain about university now that I don’t have to complain about school.’

‘Realistic. Very good,’ Minseok laughs.

‘My life’s motto is to set your standards so low, you’re either pleasantly surprised or always right,’ Chanyeol says solemnly.

‘I think you’ll get along really well with Kyungsoo,’ Minseok snorts.

‘That’s what I thought too,’ Jongdae says, his head popping out from the crook of Minseok’s neck, where he’d been hiding.

‘You’re studying to be a sorcerer right? So is Kyungsoo- you’ll share a lot of classes together,’ Minseok smiles.

‘Yeah- because that one there is going to be a Scribe,’ Chanyeol fakes a scowl. ‘You’ll leave me all alone.’

They laugh for a while before Minseok asks, ‘Are you sure you’re okay walking back? I can always drop you off.’

‘Jongdae threatened me not to get in the way of your drive back- so I’m staying away from being the third-wheel,’ Chanyeol grins widely, dodging Jongdae’s aggressive kick. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow! Don’t forget we’re going to the arcade!’

The Fire Spirit takes his long gangly form, footsteps creating small harmless sparks as his shoe heels scoff on the cement.

‘He’s a walking fire hazard.’ Minseok comments wryly before adding, ‘So- what plans do you have on this drive back that you threatened poor Chanyeol for?’

Jongdae colours magnificently, spluttering as he says, ‘Hyung! It’s just I haven’t seen you in a month! And I wanted to spend as much time with you today!’

Minseok laughs before holding up his keys, ‘You got your license?’

Jongdae whips it out flashily. ‘You betcha.’

They exchange bits of gossip from their respective schools, chatting about new spells and news they heard, laughing loudly and nearly hitting a lamp-post when Minseok tells Jongdae a particularly funny story about Lu Han getting caught in a doorway because of his antlers.

They drive to one of the tall parking buildings, ignoring the empty floors, and drive all the way to the top. The sun was just about to set as Jongdae very properly and carefully parks. Minseok applauds while Jongdae mock poses arrogantly, spinning the keys in his finger.

Summer was in the air but the evenings still carried a spring chill to it, especially on windy nights like this. They lean against the back of the car, eating some take-out with relish. The stars begin to peak out and the sky darkens slowly. Jongdae stands up, stretching loudly before climbing up the back of Minseok’s car and onto the roof. Minseok watches, amused, as his boyfriend makes himself comfortable, arms crossed behind his head.

‘Come up and be horizontal with me then,’ Jongdae grins.

Minseok huffs a laugh before he proceeds to do exactly that. The top of his car caves just a tiny bit with their added weight as he clambers over, their bodies pressed up on the sides.

‘I’m so happy it’s summer,’ Minseok sighs as they watch the sky darken slowly together.

‘University that bad?’ Jongdae laughs as Minseok groans even more.

‘Be happy you haven’t started yet.’ Minseok mumbles tiredly. His tiredness coming back to him slowly. His brain felt drained from his final exams and he’s not sure how much of any of it he remembered. All that mattered was that it had finished.

‘I will in a few months.’

They stay together like that quietly, listening to the wind and the sound of traffic and life bustling below them.

Final exams, biased professors, annoying asshole classmates- none of that mattered. Not now when they were close like this.

‘Then we can stay horizontal as many times as you want.’

 

 

 

**Things You Shouldn’t Do: Make light of their worries**

 

 

 

‘You’ll get it,’ Minseok tells him, confidence in his tone. ‘I know you will.’

It’s Jongdae’s first ever exam. On translating runes no less. A subject he’s supposed to be very good at. In fact, his professors have called him a genius, stating that no non-magical background person has ever been _this_ proficient in Runes. Runes was a difficult subject and Scribes were rare. But Jongdae has a talent- a genius, according to some, that seemed effortless.

But that didn’t stop him from being nervous.

Minseok’s exams were over. His being more of practical examinations rather than theoretical, he was now preparing for his final projects for his senior year.

‘Can you do that thing?’ Jongdae asks quietly.

Minseok shifts from where he’s sitting next to Jongdae to crouch in front of him. The cat-Witch leans in, their forehead touching, their noses just grazing a little. It was something they did since the beginning. To calm them down, to sooth their connection, to balance the buzz of emotions. Jongdae had first learnt its effects when he was around 13 and Minseok was panicking about his spells, transforming into a cat out of stress. He held him close, heads leaning in, nearly nuzzling him. The anxious buzz of panic and stress ebbed away, leaving nothing but a lingering calm. And now the same was happening.

Jongdae only feels calm, hints of warmth, the safety of their affection, and the promise of support no matter what.

‘Thank you,’ Jongdae exhales.

Minseok smiles, reaching up to stroke the sides of his face gently.

‘Can you be gross and cute elsewhere, I’m going to throw up,’ Lu Han says in a strained voice as antlers grow awry on his head.

‘Why are you even taking Runes?’ Minseok asks Lu Han as they wait outside the classroom.

‘It looked cool all right- I thought I’d learn some basics- I fucked up my free elective.’ Lu Han’s antlers have fully grown, causing a few students to give him a wide berth to move in.

‘Just 2 more exams to go,’ Minseok reminds him. ‘And you’re free.’

Jongdae exhales slow and long.

‘You’re gonna kill it.’

 

And he does.

 

 

_~~Lu Han too passes with a B- and vows to never take the subject ever again.~~ _

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Things You Should Do: Presents**

 

 

 

‘Happy anniversary hyung.’

Minseok wakes up to a soft lingering kiss.

Opening his eyes, he finds Jongdae hovering over him, sleepy smile on his face.

‘Happy anniversary Dae.’

Minseok’s eyes close as Jongdae leans in to kiss him.

Jongdae’s skin on his feels like the first time again. The way he smiles into their kisses without fail- like nothing gave him more joy. As though despite everything, his sole being yearned only to be there, in that moment, with Minseok.

‘It’s unfair how nice you look in the mornings,’ Minseok says quietly, tracing his boyfriend’s features carefully.

Jongdae snorts, wiping at his face roughly before saying, ‘I think you’re being biased hyung.’

‘I think I have every right to be biased,’ Minseok laughs.

Jongdae makes a muffled groaning sound, pressing his face into the crook of his neck, saying something along the lines of _you’re so cute it’s unfair oh Fates_.

While Jongdae is having his internal monologue and being unable to cope, Minseok takes his time slowly trailing his fingers over Jongdae’s bare back. There were small white-tattoos lined across his back, as part of his profession as a Scribe. Jongdae had tattooed the most important Runes, based on the Blessed Elements down his back, so that he could always readily channel their focus when needed instead of having to inscribe it over paper, and later, simply in the air. Jongdae didn’t want dark outlines on his skin, feeling like he wouldn’t suit the whole “bad-boy tattooed aesthetic” though Minseok thinks he’d pull it off regardless. So he opted for the white pigment instead. And it’s beautiful under the sun- the lines gleamed over his skin, like a secret that only Minseok could read- that only Minseok was allowed to see.

Minseok loves the runes- loves the lines and forms it creates. And sometimes during the full-moon, when Jongdae assists Minseok, the lines on his skin glow. Jongdae chose a combination of moon runes and nature runes, incorporating them together to suit Minseok’s own green-magic. For Scribes, to create a rune circle of power of your own, from which you drew your magic from, you had to choose from over a thousand runes and form a 4 point circle. Jongdae’s consisted of 2 moon runes, and 2 nature runes. He had carefully selected them, balancing each other. Minseok traces the symbols of the goddess, rebirth, roots, and lightning on Jongdae’s back- connected by smaller simpler runes to reinforce his rune circle. 

‘ _It’s a really stable ring,’_ Jongdae had said to him when he first got it done.

Minseok had to hold his hand the entire time he got it tattooed.

‘Hyung.’

Minseok looks away from the ring of runic letters that encircle Jongdae’s arm to find the latter looking down at him, a slightly nervous, slightly serious, and mainly anxious expression on his face.

‘What’s wrong.’ Minseok asks instantly.

‘Nothing!’ Jongdae says at once but his expression is still anxious. He sits up, and Minseok follows at once.

‘I just-‘ Jongdae rubs the back of his neck looking incredibly sheepish.

‘Dae? What’s wrong?’ Minseok asks gently, holding out a hand.

Jongdae takes his hand immediately, staring at their hands intently before saying rather abruptly, ‘You said that Familiars made Witches better- that we make Witches stronger and better. And I want to learn how to be better- to be more. You make me better- and having you in my life has made me a better person hyung,’ Jongdae says sincerely.

Minseok can literally feel his heart stutter.

‘Dae-‘

Jongdae reaches under his pillow and pulls out a small box and Minseok goes into a frenzied state.

‘ARE YOU PROPOSING KIM JONGDAE-!’

‘IT’S NOT- I’M NOT PROPOSING- YET. JUST. PROMISE RING!’

‘YET?!’

‘I MEAN EVENTUALLY SO YEAH?’

‘We need to stop screaming!’

‘Agreed!’

They both take pause, laughing a little at each other before Jongdae sobers up.

‘I uh- I’m sorry if-‘

‘No-!’ Minseok quickly exclaims. ‘I’m not doubting us- I’m not doubting you. I was just _really_ surprised- of _course_ I want this.’

Jongdae’s expression lightens so much, his expression beyond blissful and ecstatic.

He opens the box, and inside were nestled two plain silver rings, identical save for the small runes inscribed into them. Jongdae’s hands were slightly larger than Minseok’s, but their fingers were more or less the same size. Minseok can’t help the watery smile on his face as Jongdae slips the simple band into his finger and he does the same to Jongdae.

‘What do these mean?’ Minseok asks, referring to the runes inscribe inside the ring.

‘Protection, peace, success, and home.’ Jongdae says, lifting their hands up to kiss it. ‘To protect my home, and bless him with peace and success.’

Minseok leans in, kissing their entwined hands.

‘That’s a pretty stable ring.’

Jongdae laughs, leaning in to kiss him soundly on the lips.

‘I knew you would see the pun in that.’

 

 

 

 

 

**Things You Shouldn’t Do: Talk about other cats in front of them (or dragons)**

 

 

 

Jongdae is good at making friends. Not that he actively sought out relationships and company, he had a charm to him that made people flock to him. Something that’s entirely his own brand of magic. And Minseok, being just a little too shy and a whole lot more introverted, found it entertaining when they walked around university and Jongdae greeted at least 3 different people every 15 minutes or so. All by their first names, all with an added comment about something related, and with a genuine smile.

Minseok, being exhausted from planning his final year and for real, creating his own grimoire with 10 new spells and potions, writing proposals as to why these spells and potions were needed, he shifted into his cat form and Jongdae carried him around blithely.

So it’s not surprising that Minseok sort of zones out, listening only to Jongdae’s humming, and his heartbeat, and he’s a bit too late in realizing that Jongdae is actually chatting to some people, and not just a random greeting. Blearily blinking and looking up, Minseok, to his horror, finds himself craning his neck to look at a very _very_ tall person.

Minseok, in his cat form, could easily recognize other Shifters. Because even in human-form, Shifters all carried attributes of their Shifter form made only visible to other Shifters. With Lu Han he could see his antlers, patterns over his skin that reflected the pattern on his fur, his eyes large and dark. With this Shifter he finds himself almost squirming with discomfort.

Dragons were super rare and honestly thought to be a myth. He had long ebony and red horns, his eyes fiery and dark, and a wave of fire kept erupting around him in a halo.

‘Ah- hyung, you’re awake,’ Jongdae grins, readjusting his arm a little.

‘This is Kris-hyung, and this is Junmyeon-hyung. Junmyeon hyung is my senior in Transmutation and Inscription.’

Minseok looks away from the Dragon to the other man. He’s short, about their height, and there’s a small glowing symbol on the center of his forehead (invisible to other people’s eyes) indicating his status as a Transmutation Alchemist.

‘Hi- nice to meet you,’ Minseok sort of yawns, too tired to be anything more than civil.

‘I’m happy I finally got the opportunity to meet you- final year?’ Junmyeon asks politely.

‘And regretting every minute,’ Minseok grumbles.

‘Kris-hyung really wanted to meet you,’ Jongdae butts in, ‘He knows Lu Han too.’

‘Hey kitty,’ Kris grins reaching forward to pat Minseok’s head.

Suddenly bursting with energy, Minseok all but claws the Dragon’s face before Jongdae is holding him away.

Reduced to flailing, Minseok hisses at Kris who doesn’t look affronted at all. Instead he grins and retracts his hand. Junmyeon looks a little apologetic and elbows the Dragon.

‘Sorry- Lu Han told me to do that- said your reaction would be priceless,’ Kris guffaws.

Minseok was going to kill that Deer.

Other than that introduction, Kris and Junmyeon (a couple as it would turn out) were actually really cool people and fun to talk to.

‘Dragons are so cool,’ Jongdae gushes. ‘Have you seen him fly? It’s so cool! He’s like, all red and black. Chinese dragons are somehow cooler than the European ones I think. Too much belly from Europe.’

Honestly it’d be okay if Jongdae just talked about it once or twice- but then he goes on about Kris like Yixing would about magical creatures.

Minseok, already tired, is about to maybe hop off of Jongdae’s arms but the latter suddenly goes, ‘-but can you imagine how inconvenient it would be. I like hyung’s form the best.’

He snuggles Minseok’s form closer.

‘Even if I can’t fly?’

Jongdae has an amused expression on his face.

‘Dragons are cool hyung- but honestly overrated.’ Jongdae shrugs before kissing him between his ears. ‘Besides. Not my style.’

 

 

 

 

 

**Things You Should Do: Always plan pleasant surprises!**

 

 

 

‘What do you think?’

They’ve been together now for nearly 7 years and Jongdae is always taken aback by how Minseok can surprise him every time.

‘I uh- I think-‘

Minseok had said nothing about the matter, randomly popping up the question of ‘Do you want to live together?’ in the middle of breakfast, with Jongdae carefully reading through his inscription textbook.

‘I’ve- I’ve already graduated. And I’ve gotten a really good job at the Coven Infirmary,’ Minseok explains as though justifying his question. ‘And I think- well, uh, I want us to live together. Only if you want to? If you’re ready? Like, we could go looking for a place? Like a small apartment? Maybe a small town-house?’

Jongdae’s words sort of dies in his throat. It was funny. They had never really lived together before. Sure they slept over in each other’s dorm rooms frequently and at this moment Minseok was sharing an apartment with Lu Han who was permanently staying here for the rest of his immediate future.

‘We should get a place with a garden.’ Jongdae blurts out.

Minseok’s eyes widen before he blinks rapidly for a few seconds and then he says, ‘Yeah. That’s-uh, that’s a good idea.’

‘JUST LEAVE ALREADY SO I DON’T HAVE TO WITNESS THIS FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!’ Lu Han screams from his room.

Minseok and Jongdae both try to contain their laughter, biting down on their lips, staring intently at their scrambled eggs.

Clearing his throat, Jongdae asks, ‘Any place in mind?’

Clearing _his_ throat, Minseok replies, ‘Yeah- a few.’

Jongdae’s feet reach over under the table to catch his own.

‘Sounds good to me.’

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

Jongdae writes runes in the air in front of him- their magic and energy glimmering faintly before imbibing the atmosphere around him, casting a blanket of their power around the two of them. The plants seem to pick up on his magic, rustling just a little bit. Jongdae leans back on his hands, looking down at Minseok’s sleeping form, his head resting on his lap, before looking back up into the sky.

The rune takes power and the sounds of the city bustle quiets down, the sound of the air-conditioning vents are muted, leaving them in a peaceful lull.

They found a nice studio apartment just around the edges of the city. The apartment itself was small, but it had access to the rooftop which the landlord had given them permission to use with a small added fee alongside their rent. As long as they didn’t let the roots grow through the building, they were all right. So Jongdae had spent a solid day inscribing runes all over the rooftop, to deviate the roots to spread rather than grow downwards. Growing their own garden had taken quite a while, but with Jongdae’s runes, Minseok’s magic, and some help from their friends, they were able to create a thriving garden, used by both Minseok and Jongdae for their practices. There was a small greenhouse, where some of the more delicate plants were grown. There was also a dark room, where the fungi were grown. Jongdae had carefully inscribed runes there, of atmosphere, balance, and damp.

There was also a small pool, inside which Minseok stored some of his more fragile and delicate potions. It was also useful for moon-based magic and moon-inscriptions, which Jongdae was doing for his final thesis.

They were out in the sun, as Minseok told Jongdae he was spending too much time under the moon, that he needed some sun. Jongdae tried to then flirt his way through it, alluding Minseok as his sun.

Needless to say Minseok was unimpressed and dragged him out the next morning and made him his own personal pillow as they took a _sun-nap_.

‘Ah, the urban lullaby has ended,’ Minseok blinks sleepily at him, a smile forming on his face.

It was going to be his birthday in a few days, and Jongdae thinks back to that fateful breakfast 13 years ago, when Minseok popped in unannounced and proclaimed Jongdae as his Familiar. And how ever since, his entire life was just simply and beautifully made for him.

His life hadn’t been altered. His life hadn’t been made upside down.

His life became what it was supposed to be- how it was meant to be. Right here, next to him.

‘What’s up? Too much sun?’ Minseok asks.

‘I just love you so much,’ Jongdae blurts out without warning.

Minseok blinks a few times before he laughs. Shifting away so that he lay on the mat properly, he opens his arms up for him. Jongdae takes up the invite enthusiastically.

‘You’re more cat then I am sometimes,’ Minseok laughs as Jongdae nuzzles the side of his neck and face, almost purring.

‘Rubs off,’ Jongdae groans, relaxing completely.

Minseok nudges his nose with his own before kissing it lightly.

‘Love you too.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> XIUCHEN FOREVER
> 
>  
> 
> So I am now facing a month of holidays and I thought I'd start it off with this. It's not an exact prequel to "The Pros and Cons", but it's set in the same universe. And I can never pass off the opportunity of writing XiuChen because I'm trash like that. That being said, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> And thank you to my unicorn Eddy who gave me this idea. Eddy, my love, I am sorry I didn't write the CatFic I said I would- take this as another version of that.   
> This was supposed to a cat fic based off of this comic:  
> [here](https://hy-ddy.tumblr.com/post/158443018999/hy-ddy-or-is-it)  
> please read and scream with me


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